Electronic Arts' Stake in France's Ubisoft Rises to 25%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 9, 2007 - 11:49am.

Paris - Video game publisher Electronic Arts' stake in France-based fellow game publisher Ubisoft has risen to 25%, AFX News Limited reported.

Redwood City, Calif.-based EA first invested in Ubisoft in 2004, purchasing a nearly 20% stake.

The new change resulted from a section of the Ubisoft company charter that awards long-term shareholders a multiple to the voting rights assigned to its shares, EA spokeswoman Tiffany Steckler told GameDaily.biz.

EA told AFX that it reserves the right to raise its stake in Ubisoft over the next year, but has no immediate plans to seek to nominate board members.

Analysts have speculated that EA's continued investment in Ubisoft is a signal it may have interest in acquiring the company outright at some point.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/27t9z5 (AFX News Limited)

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=17079

http://www.ea.com

http://www.ubisoft.com

Published in DMW Daily, August 9, 2007

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Comments

EA takeover of Ubisoft

Submitted by ugachaka (not verified) on August 10, 2007 - 7:02am.

I don't think there is any way that EA will try to takeover Ubisoft in the near future. EA has their own strategy and corporate reconstruction going on, and absorbing Ubisoft would complicate that. It is more likely that EA will allow their interest to grow in Ubisoft until they figure out what they want to do with their interest in them, but a takeover--especially a hostile one--would be a VERY bad business move knowing Ubisoft's feelings on the subject.